Author Christina Soontornvat recounts the cave rescue of a Thai Boys Soccer team in thrilling fashion. Her book "All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys' Soccer Team" is a page-turner for readers of any age, but especially teens. Bush Middle School librarian Christie Hirst believes Soontornvat's universal appeal and incredible skill made her the perfect guest speaker.
"Whenever we choose an author, we try and find someone who will appeal to as many of our Bush Middle School students as possible," said Hirst. "The boys’ ages from the soccer team were from 11 - 17, so the students could really relate to the experiences those players had on the other side of the world. What a gift."
Soontornvat spoke to sixth, seventh and eighth graders on Friday. Oct. 1. Hirst hopes the opportunity to hear from an author will give them a deeper connection to the material or inspire them to pick up one of her books. The impact of having a renowned author visit also created an undeniable buzz on campus.
"By having a school-wide author visit, every single student and most of the teachers will have a shared experience that they can relate to one another for the rest of the school year," said Hirst. "There are some authors who presented to our campus who we still discuss from two or three years ago."
NEISD librarians do so much more than promote healthy reading habits. They bring fresh, universal experiences for the entire community to grow and learn from.
